Introduction to Solar Shading

We can all appreciate the benefits of working in an environment where the temperature is precisely regulated. For office buildings in the summer, the optimum setting is 73.4°F, with a narrow range of +/- 7°F.

In many of today's office developments this temperature band can often be exceeded, especially during the hotter months, due to the solar radiation through glazing. Temperatures as high as 95-105°F have been recorded. In order to effectively regulate the internal temperature, and better protect the environment through the design of low energy buildings, the use of natural ventilation and solar shading is becoming increasingly popular.

We offer the architect a wide range of innovative solar shading products to overcome the problems of solar glare and solar heat gains.

Solar Geometry

Orange Line - Solar Altitude for 21^st December
Yellow Line - Solar Altitude for 21^st September
Red Line - Solar Altitude for 21^st June

The sun rises in the East and sets in the West. The sun travels in an arc, reaching its highest altitude in the South (for the Northern hemisphere).

An important requirement of the design process is to ensure the building is shaded from the sun for as many hours as possible throughout the whole day, during the course of the entire year, especially with the need to meet the Building Regulations Approved Document L2. However a balance must be achieved in order to ensure that the level of natural light entering the building is not unacceptably reduced.

South Facing Facades

For a predominately South facing facade, effective solar shading can be achieved using a fixed horizontal solar shading system such as the Cantilever Shading System.

During the day in both summer and spring/autumn, a fixed horizontal system projecting out from the window can be designed to shade the building during office hours.

In the winter such a device cannot stop direct rays of the sun penetrating the building since the sun is much lower. However the heat gain and solar glare is greatly reduced in winter and therefore this may not considered to be a major problem.

East or West Facing Facades

With a predominantly East or West facing facade, a fixed system will not perform well throughout the whole day as the altitude of the sun is much lower. Sunlight will pass directly under most horizontal shading systems as shown in the illustration below.

To overcome this problem, effective solar shading can be achieved using a movable solar shading system such as the Solarfin Shading System.

Controllable fins, unlike fixed, can hang vertically in front of a window and still optimize solar shading and visibility thanks to specially written computer software which controls the louvers to follow the path of the sun.

Controllable solar shading systems enable the building to react to the changes in the weather and to the sun's position so as to optimize the flows of heat and light energy through the facade. This in turn may have a positive effect on reducing the heat load and glare, and enhancing the use of natural daylight, thereby reducing the operating costs of the building.

This reduces the likelihood of overshading or undershading and will result in the optimum shading angle at all times.

Form and Function

In addition to Cantilever and Solarfin shading systems, we can also offer:

• Shadoglass, consisting of a glass louver system with any combination of tint or patterns on each of the louver blades.
• The Shadovoltaic range of louvers, consisting of photovoltaic cells laminated onto glass louvers to produce electric power.

Custom Solar Fins

We realize the importance of creativity and individuality when designing a building and offer many custom systems such as fins made of perforated aluminum , wood, terracotta clay, or translucent acrylic.